You've Got Everything
by Fluff-is-awesome
Summary: Claire and Bender years in the future. Claire finds out she's pregnant... It's a lot better than it sounds! One-shot. Rated T because of mature content, and because you can't write Bender without swearing.


**Hello Breakfast Club fans! This is my very first fanfic for this fandom, and I really like it so please give it a chance. I was inspired by myramcqueen's beautiful stories that portray all of the characters so incredibly accurately (you should read them!).**

**In this story I focus only on the relationship between Claire and Bender, years after the movie. My goal was to illustrate that they have changed a little, and also matured a little, but are still themselves. I also really wanted to convey exactly what makes their relationship work and why they were attracted to each other in the first place.**

**I would very much love reviews on this one!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Breakfast Club.**

_—_

_"My God, are we gonna be like our parents?"_

_"Not me. Ever."_

- _Andrew Clark and Claire Standish, The Breakfast Club_

_—_

After a long day at work, Claire finally reached the door to her apartment in Hempstead. She had graduated from the University of Indiana three years ago and had gotten her first job as a journalist in New York City. It wasn't a particularly high-paying job, but it was decent, and she enjoyed it well enough. She had moved to Long Island with her boyfriend, John Bender, who worked locally at the Merrick auto repair shop as a car mechanic. He and Claire had settled into a pretty easy routine since coming to the east coast. After spending her whole childhood locked up in a rich mansion, Claire found the simple lifestyle extremely liberating.

Now, it was almost eleven, which meant John had gotten back about an hour ago. He'd probably just finished eating a late microwave dinner and having his evening smoke. Hopefully he left her something in the fridge.

"Hello!" She called as she walked through the door. She put her purse down, threw off her heels, and made her way into the kitchen.

"Good evening, Cherry," John said cheerfully from the den. He was lounged out on the couch with a beer watching the news, and he grabbed the remote to turn it off. "Nice to see that the princess made it through yet another day out in the real world," he remarked casually.

Claire rolled her eyes and poured herself a glass of wine. By now she knew to take his comments in stride. Beneath the sarcastic facade, he was actually very pleased that she had gotten herself a job; she worked hard, and he appreciated it.

"I'm glad to see that the burnout was able to get himself home without trouble," she played back. He grinned, and she joined him on the couch with her drink.

"Not too much trouble anyway," he shrugged. "Though it was a difficult feat, I assure you."

Claire smiled and gave him a light kiss on the lips. He tasted like beer, cinnimon, and faintly like smoke — a combination that she'd grown to associate with security and comfort.

"Did you leave any chicken and vegetables for me?" Claire asked, as she put her glass down and went back over to the fridge.

"Yeah I left some out on the counter. Good luck heating it— the microwave broke. I ate mine luke-warm, but you may be stuck with it cold."

Claire gave an agrivated sigh. "Well did you try to _fix_ the microwave after it broke?" She asked with a tone of annoyance. She put the plate of food in the microwave and tried pressing the buttons, which indeed were not working.

"No," he answered nonchalantly.

"Why not?"

"Too lazy," he said in the same tone.

Claire huffed and was about to open her mouth to scold him more, when something she had left carelessly on the counter that morning caught her eye. What she saw made her stomach flip.

"John," she said evenly, carefully hiding any emotion.

"I know, I know," he said getting up and sauntering over to her. "I'm the mechanic here, I'm supposed to fix everything. Not that our precious Claire could try fixing it. Oh no! The poor princess couldn't be bothered to fix anything, God forbid she gets her hands dirty—"

"John!"

"What?" He asked, turning toward her. Realizing that she was no longer paying attention to the microwave, he took a closer look at what she was staring at. "Is that a _pregnancy_ test?" Claire didn't respond and John grabbed it away from her. "Is it fucking _positive_?" He demanded.

When Claire remained silent, John banged his hand against the fridge. "Shit," he muttered.

The room became painfully quiet and neither of them spoke. The carefree mood from a moment ago had disappated completely. John's head was turned away from her, but Claire could see his shoulders tense. That probably wasn't a good sign.

"Well." He licked his lips. His voice was barely audible, dripping with bitterness. "Isn't this just my lucky day." Claire didn't look at him, keeping her eyes locked on a spot on the floor. She felt his piercing glare on her. "I got my _fucking_ _Cherry_ pregnant," he spat. Throwing the test on the floor, he stormed out of the kitchen.

Claire stood motionless, still staring at the ground. There was a crash from their bedroom and a yell, and then it was quiet.

Leaning against the counter, she let out her breath slowly and closed her eyes. She carefully picked up the test from the floor and looked at it again.

Pregnant. She was pregnant.

—

Claire leaned against the door frame to the room, watching her boyfriend rip the sheets off the bed. "You know," she said cooly, "I don't really think having a hissy fit is the best way for a father to set a good example for his child."

"Don't you go telling me how to be a father!" John growled at her. "You don't have any fucking clue how to be a parent!"

"Well I wouldn't be having a temper tantrum about it like a two-year-old," she shot back. "And I may have a better idea than you think."

"Oh fuck off, Claire. If you want someone to shower your kid with jewels, then stop wasting your time with me. Go find a different guy to play daddy."

"What makes you think that's what I want?"

"You're a fucking princess! You're supposed to go ride off on a white horse with an ass-of-a-Price Charming who your daddy might actually approve of!"

"Don't bring my family life into this! You know perfectly well that I would never want my son or daughter to grow up like that!"

"What, so you think a worthless piece of shit like me could do better?"

"_Damn_ it, John!" Claire screeched, slamming her fist loudly into the wall. "You are_ not worthless_!"

That outburst got him to shut up. For once John didn't give a retort. Claire stormed her way over to him, steaming, and pointed her finger his chest. "You listen to me, John Bender, you listen very closely. I have been putting up with your obnoxious lack of self-esteem for almost eight years now. I know you think you're worth nothing— a stupid, useless, son-of-a-bitch, blah, blah— but contrary to your stubborn opinion, you _are_ worth something. You're worth something to _me_. You give me something that my parents could _never_ give me, no matter how much expensive _junk_ they bought for me. You give me truth. You give me honesty. And fuck it, John, you give me love! Now you are going to be the father of this kid, whether you like it or not; and if you want to know the truth," she lowered her voice, "I would not trust _anyone_ more than I trust you to raise my child— to raise it _right_."

They stared at each other intensely in a silent battle. For a long moment, neither of them moved, and the only noise was the sound of their breathing. Finally, John spoke in an unnaturally calm voice. "You can do better, Claire."

Claire's eyes blazed, and she gritted her teeth. She forced herself to stay calm, but her voice shook. "You know," she hissed, "one of the first things you ever told me was to never, ever compare myself to you. Well I listened, John. I don't compare myself to you. But I think it's about time that you start taking your own advice, and stop comparing _yourself_ to _me_."

Holding back angry tears, Claire turned to leave. She paused by the door. "Now why don't you," she said giving him a look, "instead of throwing a fit, maybe start thinking about how you're going to treat your kid. Because _I_ know that you are very capable of being an amazing parent, whether _you_ know it or not." Throwing him one last glare, Claire walked out of the room.

After she left, John stared at the door, silently willing her to take back everything she had said. He was such a fuck up! What the hell did she see in him to make her think he, John Bender, could be a _father_? It was stupid. He wanted to slap her upside the head to set her straight. But a small part of him, something deep in his gut, was relieved that she had said those things to him. He needed to hear it. Despite all of the nasty digs he made at his girlfriend about being bitchy and shallow, she really wasn't like that at all. And when she acted like she was, he certainly never hesitated to call her out on it.

He just hated that _she_ was able to get under _his_ skin, too. He hated that she could always pinpoint exactly what he was thinking and feeling, and she wasn't afraid to rip up every single shield and safety net that he had created for himself. Yet he depended on it. It seemed as though every time he exposed himself to her raw, she gained more respect for him. And as much as he hated to admit it, her respect meant everything to him.

John, being the bad-ass high school dropout that he was, had instinctively figured that the most logical thing to do in this situation was to get up and leave. It was no doubt expected of a criminal like him. But no matter how flipped out he was about being responsible for a child— and yes, he was scared as hell— there was no way he could make himself leave her alone because of it. John didn't know what was going to happen once that child was born; by no means did he know the right way to raise one. But he certainly knew what _not_ to do, and Claire was right about one thing— he couldn't ditch it. Not only because he didn't want to be immature like his own father, but also because he had gotten himself too deeply connected to _her_ to even think about starting over now.

As he stood staring in the direction Claire had gone, John realized that maybe he really was lucky; in nine months, he was going to be sharing a kid with the only girl who had ever treated him like gold.

—

**A/N: I really feel like they have learned so much from each other, don't you think? He keeps her from being a bitch, and she keeps him from being a jerk. I know that in the movie he totally beats up on her insecurities, but I thought it would be interesting to switch the roles a little. He needs to grow up, too. I think they will be awesome parents. Because they both were so unhappy with their home lives, they will be able to work together to raise their kid the way they would have wanted to be raised.**

**I hope you liked it! I really wanted it to be good. Let me know what you think in a review!**


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